How do you make better long-term decisions?

Hey Decision Maker,

It’s the second edition of the Newsletter, how’s that for consistency?

Forming a habit takes anywhere between 18-54 days according to the research I found.

This means that nothing worth changing comes easy.

You probably give up because you don’t see results in the first few days.

Sticking to your new diet for a week just isn’t enough to see results.

You might feel a bit better or look a little better, but it’s not enough.

Don’t give up, stick to it for at least 3 weeks then reassess.

At the very least what will happen is that you’ll form some good habits that you can stick to with ease.

In this edition, I’ll deliver 4 actionable steps you can implement to make better long-term decisions.

Sticking to the goal will cause the goal to stick.

Let’s get right into it:

Fitness | The importance of setting goals

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” — Andrew Carnegie

You’ve probably heard of this goal-setting framework before:

S - specific
M - measurable
A - achievable
R - relevant
T - timebound

Basically, setting a goal isn’t as simple as just saying you want to achieve an arbitrary result, e.g. a New Year’s resolution. It doesn’t work because it’s usually not SMART.

You can apply it to any part of your life, but let’s use fitness as an example for today.

Your resolution might be to lose weight. Let’s apply it to the framework:

S(pecific): make it clear and narrow for more effective planning.

> Lose body fat while maintaining muscle.

M(easurable): make the goal and progress measurable.

> Track weight on the scale or get a DEXA scan for more accuracy.

A(chievable): it should be reasonable to succeed.

> Lose 10kg of fat, this would put you at a healthy weight.

R(elevant): it should align with your values and long-term objectives.

> It will improve your health and overall well-being.

T(ime-based): realistic but ambitious end date to achieve the result.

> Lose the 10kgs of fat within 4 months.

Actionable step:

Apply the SMART goal-setting framework to your own fitness goal. Write it down, stick it on your wall or make it your phone/desktop wallpaper. You’re much more likely to stick to it with constant exposure. You can do it!

Mindset | Use your phone wallpaper to help you

Goal setting is a perfect segue into this week’s mindset lesson. We know phones are bad. We know screen time negatively impacts your well-being. But let’s be honest, you can’t escape it.

You have to use your devices for work and social connections, it’s not a realistic desire to get rid of them completely.

So how do we get the most out of it? One thing I found really helpful is to change your wallpaper (desktop & phone) with a simple image of your biggest goals or purposes.

For example, for the last 6 months, my wallpaper was this:

It was too broad and actually, I didn’t achieve any of these goals. But I did make progress, and there were countless times just seeing it when I picked up my phone positively changed my behaviour.

Instead of scrolling social media, I wrote down an idea for a YouTube video. One would get me close to my goal by the end of 2023, and one wouldn’t. The more reps you can put in, the stronger your willpower will get, so set your digital environment up for success.

I’ve just updated it to this:

This clearly reminds me of the bigger goals and purpose visually and distils my goal into one measurable output. 10k YT subs. If I can achieve that, I strongly believe all the other problems and sub-goals will be solved (or enabled).

Actionable step: 

Set your wallpaper to something meaningful to you on your self-improvement and decision-mastery journey. Maybe it’s a quote or reminder to maximise your life, or a specific goal related to your career or travel goals. Make it productive and aligned to your purpose, not short-term entertainment.

Money | Compound interest takes time

“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn't … pays it.” — Albert Einstein

Even the smallest goals build on one another. Let’s go back to the weight loss example. Losing weight gives you momentum, you build good habits.

You’re healthier and perform better at work. You attract more potential romantic partners. One positive change enables more, and they enable even more…

Do you get the idea?

Now the classic application of compounding is financial. You either accumulate debt that snowballs into an unmanageable bankruptcy or you acquire assets that are invested into building more assets.

A simple example is a savings account.

$100 today is worth $104 in a year.

The bank paid you $4 in year one.

$104 is worth $108.16 in year two.

That extra $4 earned you another 16c.

And it goes on…

If you left it for 100 years, the $100 would be worth $5252.

Now there’s obviously a lot more to it, but you get the idea.

Compounding is incredibly powerful.

The best time to start investing was the day you were born.

The second best time is TODAY.

Actionable step:

I’m not gonna tell you to start saving or investing, it’s prescriptive and it’s not particularly motivational. Instead, play around with a compound interest calculator (here’s a link) and get crazy. Imagine if you saved just $10 a day ($300/m) for the next 30 years, go see how much that would be worth!

Relationships | Every man needs to prove they can get women

Now most of my readers are young men. I was focused on helping them improve their lives from my personal experiences. I still am, but have changed my scope a bit to focus specifically on decision-making as a unique mechanism. Anyone can benefit from this.

If you’re a woman, this might help you understand the perspective of your male peers. Understanding will help us all improve our lives, interactions, careers and society as a whole.

On the theme of goal-setting, a common one for young men is getting women & to say it bluntly, women just cannot relate to this experience. Even just getting a date is an insurmountable task for the majority of young men while young adult women are showered with attention, often from older men with resources and some level of success.

To be clear, I don’t think it’s the right goal, but sleeping with many women is almost a right of passage for many guys. It’s to prove that they can do it and they are ‘worthy’ of respect and attention from women.

I went through this phase and there are many things I could regret about it, but in hindsight, it was probably a necessary step for my confidence and self-development. I choose to look at it positively and share my lessons instead of beating myself up. More on that in future editions, but for now…

Actionable step:

Be clear on what you want out of romantic relationships. Do you really want to find love or do you just want short-term approval? The latter isn’t necessarily wrong, but be honest about it.

This newsletter was all about habits and long-term goals.

If there’s one takeaway for you, it’s to decide intentionally about how you live.

Enjoy the moment but have a guiding purpose.

My challenge to you: decide to apply all of these actionable steps over the next week.

If that’s not realistic, decide on one you can definitely apply and do that.

Let me know how you go,

Jack “goal-setter” Alderton

P.S. Shoot me a reply with your feedback. I will work to improve the newsletter each week and the best way to iterate is with feedback. 

P.S.S. I will be opening up coaching calls soon. If you’re interested in being a beta (test) client please send me an email & we’ll organise a discounted session.